Monday Nonfiction Smart Animals

I’ll be taking my son’s stuffed orangutan doll to school Monday. After reading Bearport Publishing’s Smart Animals! Orangutans book by Meish Goldish, I have spent hours reading more about these amazing animals. Did you know they have passed chimpanzees in the nonhuman primate intelligence list to rise to the top? Whether it’s using sticks to unlock doors and reach food, or teaching their young new skills, these primates are intelligent.
I had to go to YouTube and view videos myself before I could believe some of the things they can do: communicate with sign language, use tools to reach food, create better tools (like biting sticks to the shape of locks), and cleaning their own enclosures.

Notice there are no cats, rats, snakes, or cows. Hmmm? Do you wonder why? They must not have seen my kitten using tools to get things. Even better, she goes and tells the German Shepherd to get things for her and he does the work.